The University of Washington is coordinating a two-year study in 24 cities
in the United States and Canada to test the life-saving potential and cost
effectiveness of public access defibrillation (PAD). The trial is under
the direction of Al
Hallstrom, professor of biostatistics in the UW School
of Public Health and Community Medicine.

Funded by the National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute in collaboration
with the American Heart
Association, researchers will train volunteers in
the communities to recognize cardiac arrest, summon 911, and perform CPR.
In half the communities, volunteers will learn to use automatic external
defibrillators (AED) that have been placed in conspicuous locations. The
AEDs will be available in residential apartments, shopping centers, senior
centers, gated communities, office buildings and sports venues.

The study will measure the effectiveness of trained lay responders who
treat sudden cardiac arrests using AEDs. The results will help communities
across the country design public access defibrillation programs. The study
chair is Joseph Ornato, chair of emergency medicine at the University of
Virginia.